


Breakaway

by blueorchidseverlasting



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Henry deserved a happy ending so I gave him one, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 12:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8144605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueorchidseverlasting/pseuds/blueorchidseverlasting
Summary: With Iris's help Barry is able to give his dad advice on an important decision.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I adore the relationship that Henry and Barry have and wish the show explored it more in season 2 after he was released from prison, but this is why fanfiction exists.  
> Many thanks to SilverGlimmers for being my beta and friend. All mistakes are still mine. Enjoy! :)

Barry hated leaving his phone off of vibrate, the device almost always got him in trouble but he still seemed to forget to put it on silent. A decision he came to regret. He groaned before turning over to cover his ears with his pillow hoping to block the noise. Thankfully it stopped. He breathed a sigh of relief because who would call at five o’clock in the morning anyway? The ringtone was a generic one so it was either a wrong number or someone wanting to sell him something. Neither seemed tempting enough for him to get out of his bed to answer.

Just when he started to fall back into a deep slumber it rang again. He cursed prior to picking up his phone.

“What?!”

“Mr. Allen, It’s Tina.” Immediately he was on alert. He knew that she had his number but she never called and if she was doing so now it could only mean one thing.

“My dad? Is he ok?”

“I wish I could tell you but I’m not sure of that myself, he’s gone.”

“What do you mean he’s gone?”

“I mean just that Mr. Allen,” Tina’s previously worried tone took on one of irritation.

Barry pinched the bridge of his nose trying to make sense of the situation while wishing away his grogginess. “Wha-uh-um,” He took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves. _Not again. Please don’t let this have happened again._ “When was the last time you saw him?”

“At Detective West’s house when we came over for dinner. He was there when I went to bed as well but when I woke up to use the facilities he was gone. My first instinct was to call you,” there was a moment of silence before she spoke again and this time her voice shook him because he had never heard her sound so vulnerable, “Barry? You don’t think-I mean he wouldn’t-”

His heart broke for her and he wished he could tell her different but if his dad could leave him, he wouldn’t be surprised if his father did it to her too.

“Honestly Tina? I don’t know. Um, let me freshen up and I will start my search alright?”

“Thank you Barry and...I’m sorry for calling at such an inopportune time.”

“It’s fine, Tina. I will call if I find anything.”

He heard a shaky sigh from her end, “Alright, Mr. Allen. Again thank you.”

“Yeah.” As soon as he ended the call he laid back in his bed and stared at the ceiling.

He couldn’t believe his dad left _again_.

* * *

 Barry ran to the only places he could think of: His mother's grave, the cabin his dad used to live in and their old home. He found nothing.

The last place he stopped by was his middle school, thinking his dad might possibly be there but no such luck. The faster he ran the harder it got to breathe. His feet started to feel heavy and his chest was hurting, he knew it wasn't from running. “Breathe, Barry breathe,” he kept chanting to himself over and over again. _He can’t leave. Not again._

Next thing he knew his hands moved of their own accord and he heard her voice on the other end, full of sleep but still calming as ever.

“Barry, what's wrong why are you calling so early?”

“Iris, my-, he-” His breath was choppy and he couldn’t get a full sentence out without deeply inhaling. He felt bad for interrupting her sleep since today was the only day she had off in a while but he needed help.

“Bear, it’s ok. I’m here.”

He focused on her voice and inhaled until his feet felt lighter and his chest was no longer heavy. He exhaled and ran to where she was.

He waited in Joe’s living room while she got ready. When she came downstairs his fears eased even more. “Iris.”

Iris gave a small smile as she walked to towards Barry and gave him a hug. When she pulled away she ran her hand down his arm before speaking, “What happened?”

“My dad left.”

Her brow scrunched in confusion, “Are you sure?”

He nodded, “Tina called me this morning, then I checked all the places I could think of before I ended up here.”

Iris hummed. “Maybe there’s something in my dad’s attic? I know it would hurt to go through your old stuff but we could find something that is significant to your dad and go from there.”

Barry's mouth turned down into a thoughtful position as he nodded his head, indicating that he thought her suggestion was a reasonable one. “Yeah, ok.”

He left and came back a second later with a box labeled **Keepsakes** , he set it down on the coffee table so that him and Iris could look through it.

Barry used his speed to sort through the pictures but was soon yelled at by Iris for creating too much dust so he had to do it the old fashioned way. He grumbled, earning a glare from Iris, which in turn made him go red as he mumbled an apology.

After thirty minutes he grew agitated with each passing second. He bounced his leg, anxious to find some type of clue of his father's whereabouts. “We’re not going to find anything, Iris.”

“Patience, Bear.” Iris said dismissively as she turned the pages of the last photo album from the box. She analyzed each photo in hopes of finding something.

“What about this?” She held up a picture of a lake.

He barely spared a glance at it as he tried to find more stuff to look through. “It’s just a lake, Iris.”

“And Jitters is just a rooftop.”

That gave him pause. He locked eyes with her and she arched her brow, he grabbed the picture and examined it more closely. “I’ve seen this lake I think.”

He quickly searched the box’s contents again hoping to find a clue.

“Is this it?”

Barry looked up and on Iris’s phone was the exact same lake but this time surrounded by trees decorated with white string lights. It read Crescent Lake Park.

“How did you-”

“When I want to take the long way to work I drive by this lake occasionally. It’s usually occupied by teenagers looking for a quic—”

“Please don’t finish that sentence.”

Iris laughed. “Yeah I remember now. My dad told me he proposed to my mom at a lake. This could be it!” Barry stood as his body now moved with excitement and not fear and anxiety. It was a long shot but worth a try. He smiled, then gave Iris a quick kiss on the cheek before running out the door.

Iris sighed and lounged back on her sofa staring at the mess they made. With a dismissive wave she stood up and went back upstairs. “I’ll just make him clean it up later.”

* * *

 The lake was just like the picture Iris showed him on her phone. The lights reflected on the water giving the area a beautiful ambiance. Barry thought about running around the lake but didn’t want to attract any onlookers. So he walked the edge hoping to find his dad.

About halfway past the entrance of the park there was a pier and Barry swore he saw someone sitting on it. The closer he got the more he recognized his dad’s hair and stature. Barry tried to be quiet but the wood was old and creaked under his weight.

Henry turned at the sound. “Didn’t think you’d find me.”

“If you didn’t want to be found you would have left Central City,” Barry said as he sat down next to his father.

Henry shook his head as he stared into the dark. The sun still hadn’t come out yet and the string lights brightened the area just enough. “I couldn’t leave this place even if I tried,” he gave a humorless laugh, “and boy did I try.”

“What stopped you?”

The older man sighed, “I couldn’t leave you again. I couldn’t disappoint you _again_.”

Barry clenched the edge of the pier until his hands hurt, “You could never disappoint me dad. Make me angry, sure, but I will never stop being proud of the man you’ve become and I know mom would feel the same.” The speedster licked his lips. “I could never understand how you stayed so calm while you were in prison and maybe one day when we’re both strong enough I’ll ask you what went on in there but for now I see the man that stayed strong no matter what life threw at him and I hope to one day be like you.”

Henry chuckled as tears ran down his face, he offered his hand and Barry took it. They stayed like that for a bit, crying and leaning on each other for support.

“Do you remember this place?” Henry asked looking out at the lake.

“Yeah, it’s where you proposed to mom. Right?”

The former doctor nodded, “I was going to ask Tina to marry me here.”

Barry turned to his dad in surprise.

“Yeah but I didn’t want to overshadow the memory I made with your mother, _but then_ realized I had nowhere else to take Tina. At least no place where people didn’t look at me and see a murderer.”

“Dad.”

“No, Barry. It’s one thing to live inside those four bleak walls away from people’s scrutiny, and then to actually live it is far beyond what I could have ever imagined. Gone are the people that give you the benefit of the doubt. Now it's replaced with disdain and disgust. I can’t have Tina go through that with me.”

“I think that should be left for Tina to decide, not you.”

“Barry you don’t understand.”

Barry smiled, “Oh but I do. I made the mistake of not telling Iris about me being the Flash in order to protect her and I almost destroyed our relationship. Don’t do that. Don’t shut her out. She deserves to make that decision herself. If she’s been with you this long I think she can last longer. You just have to give her the option to do so.”

Henry looked beyond the lake just as daylight started to come out, contemplating what his son told him.

* * *

 

_Four weeks later_

“Tina you look amazing!” Linda proclaimed as she put the finishing touches on the doctor’s veil.

“Yes, well I’m sure I can only look as stunning as a woman my age can,” she answered nervously. Being surrounded by beautiful young women as part of her bridal party didn’t exactly help her self-esteem.

“It’s no lie Tina. I promise you that. Henry won’t know what hit him.”

“Thank you Iris.” Tina smiled. She had to find a way to repay her somehow.

All of Tina’s so-called friends and colleagues bailed on her last minute because of the man she decided to marry. And that was no easy feat to deal with but the young reporter took it in stride. Iris announced herself as the maid of honor and helped coordinate everything with their wedding planner. For that Tina was eternally grateful to have someone like Iris in her life.

“She's right Tina, you truly look amazing”

She turned around. “Oh! Mr. Allen you’re too kind.”

Barry stood in the doorway smiling at his future stepmother. He couldn’t think of a better woman to have by his dad’s side. His mother would be proud.

“May I have the room?”

Iris, Linda, Jesse and Caitlin quietly left the room but not before Iris stopped to give a quick kiss on Barry’s cheek.

Though the exchange wasn't secret Tina felt the need to bring it up. “And when will we hear wedding bells for you might I ask?”

The young man blushed and laughed. “Soon I hope.”

“I can’t thank you enough Mr. Allen.”

“Tina I have said plenty of times to please call me Barry.

She smiled as she tilted her head, looking up at him from her seat. “Yes, well our relationship started out quite peculiar don’t you think?”

“Indeed, but that is not why I came here, I came to give you this.” He opened his palm, revealing a beautiful pink pearl brooch.

Tina gasped. “Barry. I couldn’t,”

“Please, may I?”

Tears formed in her eyes as she looked at her soon to be stepson but stood anyway so he wouldn’t have to bend too far over to pin it on her.

“It belonged it my mom and was given to her by my paternal grandmother but she wanted nothing to do with me or my family after the murder so she threw it out.”

Barry gave a small laugh and blinked away tears, “I will never forget the day when the police finally let me in the house to get my things there was a cardboard box with my stuff in it labeled free garbage, this brooch was amongst the clutter. My mom loved wearing it especially on dates with my dad, so I vowed to never throw it away and save it for something or someone special. So when my dad asked you to marry him I figured why not give it as a fresh start.” When he finished putting the brooch on her he stood back and looked at the final product. He was happy to see that it matched well with her cream colored dress.

“But Barry I have no kids and well at my age...” She didn’t want to finish the sentence and thankfully she didn’t have to.

The speedster shrugged, “I’m tired of living in the shadow of feeling like I have to make up for what a maniac did to my family. It’s time I took what’s mine and make it my own. I want you to have it, Tina. At least this way I know it was given in love and not thrown away in hate.”

She pulled him into a hug. “Thank you Barry.”

* * *

 “So that was fun.” Henry said as he packed a few extra things for their trip to the Bahamas.

“Yes, tiring but fun.” Tina answered. She also didn’t miss how he kept looking at the brooch that Barry gave her. The surprised smile he had on his face as she walked down the aisle was more than worth it.

“When we get back we should take Barry and Iris out.”

“I hope this isn’t your way of getting them to date.” Henry threw a sideways glance at his wife.

“Who me? Never,” she said with a smirk.

He stared fondly at the beautiful woman who made his life seem easier in more ways than one. Something he thought only Nora would be able to do. He thought moving on meant he had to forget his first wife, but Tina taught him that while it was good to look at the past, only moving forward would he truly be able to live.

“Something on your mind?” She asked, folding her last piece of clothing before shutting her suitcase.

He shook his head. “Just counting my blessings.” He pulled her into a hug, then gave her a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments and kudos if you liked this. I would greatly appreciate it. :)


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